This pictorial presents an autobiographical design study of the Blowfish Band, a spiky, inflatable sensory wearable I created and wore as an autistic designer- researcher. Through photography and reflection, I explore how manual inflation and tactile interaction supported unmasking, emotional regulation, and reduced harmful stimming behaviors such as skin- picking. Worn across a range of real-world settings, the band offered a way to reclaim agency over sensory needs, often suppressed to conform to social norms. By documenting changes to my skin and reflecting on the ethical tensions of designing for behavior change, I examine how interaction for self-use can center personal autonomy. This work contributes a first-person perspective on neurodivergent stim experiences with interactive products and proposes that designing for one's own sensory needs can reveal new possibilities for ethical behavior change in HCI. The pictorial also offers design considerations for wearability, multi-sensory interaction, and manual control to support self-directed, sensory-focused engagement.

This pictorial presents a case for designers of interactive systems to focus on supporting self-determined behaviors instead of aiming to “fix” behaviors deemed abnormal or problematic by society. It proposes a decision map to help determine whether it is ethical or appropriate to design a product or system for behavior intervention. Through the lens of neurodiversity, this work considers how designs for behavior intervention often mirror techniques utilized in behavioral therapies aimed at preserving neurotypical social expectations at the expense of individual autonomy. This pictorial also examines devices used for behavior intervention through photographs of existing products and technologies that support self-stimulatory behaviors (stimming). It utilizes a fictional narrative with digital illustrations and AI-generated imagery to explore the impact of an imagined technology designed to modify the behavior of neurodivergent individuals. “Fidgets” are presented as a product exemplar that supports and celebrates self-determined, intuitive behaviors rather than suppressing or modifying behaviors to conform to social norms.

We report on the effects of a novel soft robot of our design on emotional wellbeing. Participants (N=94) engaged with our soft robotic surface designed to simulate the benefits of nature and provide a therapeutic behavioral intervention. The study assessed group differences in attention, perceived restorativeness, and self-reported stress between three groups: a group that performed a breathing exercise with the robot, a group that watched the robot perform an ocean-inspired movement designed to capture involuntary attention, and a control where the robot was static. The Breathing Group had a significant reduction in self-reported stress compared to the Control Group. Significant differences in attention and perceived restoration were not found. Qualitative feedback suggested the robot did provide a positive distraction in the environment and participants were generally favorable to the robot, characterizing it as soothing and fascinating. Feedback on the sensory qualities showed that people who did not initially enjoy the texture or sound often acclimated to the novelty of the surface with improved perceptions over time. These findings suggest the promise of soft robots to support mental wellbeing.

We propose, examine prototypes of, and collect user input on morphing robotic surfaces, "robot-room" elements that, individually or in combination, change the functionality of the rooms we live in, directly controlled by the room’s occupants engaging with it. Robot-rooms represent an advance in human-robot interaction whereby human interaction is within a machine that physically envelops us. We discuss the motivation for such robot-rooms, present initial work aimed at their physical realization, and report on a user study of 80 participants to learn what people might want of and expect from robot rooms, the results of which will inform both the iterative design of the robot room and the thinking of our community as it grapples with how we want to live with (and "in") robots.

We are developing soft robotic surfaces to support emotional wellbeing for people with limited access to nature. This work explores how biophilic design (based on the theory that humans have an evolutionary desire to connect with nature) can be applied to interactive systems. We describe a generative design tool that produces a bio-inspired digital prototype of a soft robotic surface. In our workflow, participants walked outdoors to photograph natural features in their environment. The photographs are used to generate a set of corresponding designs. As early validation, we conducted a small user study to test the robustness of our tool with different photographic inputs. We also collected feedback on how the workflow influenced participants’ perceptions of the design outcomes. The results guided the fabrication of a new physical prototype and demonstrated the utility of our approach, which aims to inform the design of future biophilic cyber-physical systems.

It is well understood that nature has a calming effect on us. But in a physical space remote from nature, might the robotic embodiment of a natural phenomenon have the same effect? To address this question, we have simulated the soothing movement of ocean waves in a soft robotic surface, both as a simulation and in a physical prototype. In this paper, we report on our modeling methods of this natural phenomenon, we present the application of a selected model to both a simulation of the predicted inflation pattern of the soft robot surface and to the physical soft robot surface, and we compare the behavior of the physical robot to our simulation as a means to validate our design. We observed that the prototype’s frequency spectrum successfully shared the general trend and shape as our mathematical model. This research introduces a novel robot for a novel application: a soft robot to promote restoration and help regulate mental wellbeing in tight physical confines.

Pandemic or not, many of us are spending more time indoors, apart from others and from nature. We report on user perceptions of "pheB," a non-anthropomorphic, bio-inspired, pneumatic-actuated robot surface aiming to help regulate our emotional states when inhabiting confined spaces, such as our homes. A survey (N = 50) tested perceived stress levels before and after performing guided breathing exercises under two conditions: led by the pheB prototype and a 2D vector graphic. We learned that perceived stress levels were significantly lower after performing the pheB led exercises. Comments from respondents who did not prefer pheB suggested a possible "Uncanny Valley" effect. The same survey elicited feedback on possible design features for pheB related to color, scale, orientation, and edge complexity. Beyond reporting on a soft robotic artifact of our own design, the research reported here offers an exemplar for conducting user studies online of novel robot designs, highlights user perceptions of bio-inspired robots in HRI research and considers biophilia and the uncanny valley for non-anthropomorphic robots supporting human-centered design applications.

“pheB,” is a robotic “plant-human, embodied, biofeedback” system to support the wellbeing of human inhabitants in confined, physical spaces. This surface aims to increase users’ emotion regulation and foster connections with nature by visualizing the internal states of plants through tactile, expressive movement. Unlike 2D biofeedback visualization models currently in use, our research explores mindfulness practices through immersive, tangible interactions to increase therapeutic effectiveness. This pictorial traces the development of our design (to-date) and presents results from an early user study conducted to (a) assess the prototype at leading breathing exercises, (b) evaluate preferences for different design features, and (c) refine the design of a questionnaire for future user testing. Findings suggest pheB was perceived positively and as an embodied extension of self during guided breathing exercises. This work contributes knowledge toward developing novel biofeedback modalities and offers a design exemplar for interactive artifacts that nurture meaningful relationships with nature.